Alex Trelinski
OVER 300 people protested in Playa Flamenca on Monday about sub-standard services on the Orihuela Costa.
The demonstration outside the Orihuela council office was called by the PIOC party which wants independence for the area.
Residents have had long-standing grievances over the coast getting second-rate treatment compared to Orihuela City.
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They say they have been hit by big rises in bills with nothing seen in return.
The PIOC fell just 100 votes short of getting a councillor at the 2023 municipal elections because it failed to get the 5% quota needed across the whole municipality.
It nevertheless easily topped the poll on the Orihuela Costa,
Monday’s protest was timed to coincide with a meeting of the coastal district council which has been postponed for five months.
PIOC president, Roman Jiminez, described the postponements as a ‘joke’ and added that ‘people are very angry’.
“We don’t want anything more than other parts of Orihuela, but just the same services as in the urban area,” he added.
Concerns include high garbage collection fees but a lack of waste containers, coupled with the deteriorating state of roads.
There is also a demand for a cultural and social centre and for more police patrols to counter crime.
There are currently 30,000 registered people living on the Orihuela Costa, but Jiminez claims that will rise by 10,000 over the next eight years.
“It will be very difficult for such a number to continue to depend on Orihuela,” he commented.
Jiminez’s party is also focusing on getting more registered voters ahead of the next elections in 2027.
